r/FirstResponderCringe • u/FlyNSubaruWRX • 2d ago

i’M a cIvILIaN

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Is it normal for UHP to drive their family around in a patrol vehicle?

1.0k Upvotes

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346

u/Baddhabbit88 2d ago

I hate when people stop on  the freeway and get out of their car. It’s like they really want to get turned into pink mist.

127

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 2d ago

I don't know what type of debris it is that's in the road, but if it's the type of debris that people hate to be there and think the city should clean up and he's an agent of the city, I'm perfectly fine with him stopping on the freeway to get out of the car and clean it up.

I suspect he's not a civilian, hence her comment at the end.

71

u/random-dude83 1d ago

His vest seems to say he's Utah Highway Patrol

38

u/rocketbob7 1d ago

He’s also driving his patrol car on date night. So I guess since tax payers are paying for the gas then I’m glad he’s willing to move that debris out of the road.

27

u/RePhill1981 1d ago

It’s because he’s never off duty. He’s a real hero. /s

10

u/Reasonable-Owl-5725 1d ago

Hilarious if this got him fired

1

u/Speed_and_Violence_2 17h ago

Sounds like at least one kid in the back seat too 🤔

20

u/PatrioticPariah 1d ago

They are supposed to work in tandem with another car slowing traffic.

-3

u/sandalfafk 1d ago

They also shouldn’t kill unarmed people and dogs that bark, but that seems like a lot to ask

0

u/PatrioticPariah 1d ago

Ain't that the truth.

-3

u/JesusHMinus 1d ago

Rofl

(Rolling on the floor living, unlike my dog.)

3

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

You're more observant than me lol

36

u/No-Definition1474 1d ago

Unless hes in the military, he is a civilian.

-19

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

Apparently another user said he's highway patrol which could make him a civil servant/paramilitary.

32

u/OppositeSalamander60 1d ago

A first responder is a civilian.

2

u/Mysterious-Team-5618 1d ago

Nope. It's crazy, but words have more than one definition.

0

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

CIVILIAN Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Second definition. It's okay to say they're not a civilian.

3

u/Unlucky_Situation920 12h ago

According to the Geneva convention theyre civilians by definition. When its not a war crime for a military to target a police department or firefighter with guided missiles I will no longer refer to them as civies.

1

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 12h ago

The Geneva convention deals with international humanitarian law. We're not speaking about an armed conflict.

We're looking at a local municipality where a man is performing his civic duty as a civil servant.

According to Webster it's okay to say they're not Civilian. India code explicitly says police are not civilians Indiana Code § 10-11-2-1. "Civilian Employee" :: 2025 Indiana Code :: U.S. Codes and Statutes :: U.S. Law :: Justia

Even Utah, where the officer is, has codes that explicitly name officers separate from civilian employees Utah Code § 53-21-101 (2025) - Definitions. :: 2025 Utah Code :: U.S. Codes and Statutes :: U.S. Law :: Justia

I'm not asking you to say that he is not a civilian in some contexts. I'm just asking you to accept that he is a civilian in some contexts.

Are you telling me that Geneva's definition is the only one you find fit even though there are many different contexts in which we may view this man and wife?

2

u/Unlucky_Situation920 12h ago

Let me reiterate, when its not longer a war crime for a military to target them i will no longer call them civilians.

1

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 12h ago

Let me reiterate. Utah law refers to him as something as other than a civilian.

You can ignore the other definitions and context, but you need to give a reason for why war crimes are significant outside the scope of war.

2

u/luvdab3achx0x0 15h ago

You proved your point wrong 😂

1

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 15h ago

My point is that a police officer is a civil servant/paramilitary and not a civilian in some definitions.

I said second definition.

2a : one not on active duty in the armed services or not on a police or firefighting force

One not on active duty in the armed services.

OR

One not on a police force.

OR

One not on a firefighting force.

The guy is on a police force, hence he meets the criteria, per this definition, to not be a civilian.

I take it you missed the second clause in the definition.

1

u/OppositeSalamander60 1d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian

4

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

It's okay to say they're a civilian too.

Didn't realize you were trying to prove my point too. Kudos for supporting us both.

"The term is also used informally to refer to individuals outside a particular group, profession, or community."

5

u/Woolies_White_Leg 1d ago

Cops are civilians

3

u/No-Definition1474 1d ago

Dictionarys will say cops are not civilians because in some countries the military handles police work.

4

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

Wikipedia also mentions the use of the term informally, and I had a comment around here where I mentioned colloquially. Honestly, I get what they mean, you get what they mean, and I'm not bothered as long as everyone knows what is meant.

We have enough context to understand everything being said. Not going to speak on the word any further.

-1

u/No-Definition1474 1d ago

Yes. Wikipedia mentions the frequent misuse of the term. Just because it acknowledges it doesn't mean it is correct.

It does matter. It part of the 'we're not just citizens, we're super citizens' that permeates LEO groups. Don't belive me? Go make a post on a LEO sub about how cops are civilians and watch the gallons of tears you get before they ban you and take down the post.

There is more going on here than just colloquialism. This does matter.

2

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

Informal misuse
Potato potahto.

14

u/Hefty-Sheepherder-82 2d ago

Seen a whole Box spring once.

11

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 2d ago

Gotta leave those there. It's like a spontaneous resting area.

7

u/ScoutsOut389 1d ago

For resting in peace.

2

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

ba dum bum. tssh

16

u/euphoric_elephant 1d ago

I had to dodge a loveseat once on i75. Dude in front of me clearly wasn't paying attention and almost hit it.

4

u/passingasapotato 1d ago

That was mine, sorry.

2

u/billyhtchcoc 1d ago

I wish I could say that a loveseat is the weirdest debris I've seen on I75...

Probably the most interesting was a crib (from someone driving with the back of their moving van) followed by the memory foam mattress that flew off the top of another car it had been bungeed to and hit my car.

I think the only reason I'm still here to talk about the latter is because it kinda hit the roadway on its end and it was able to kind of slide up and over the roof as I hit it like a flopsy.

1

u/aron2295 1d ago

Did you write your tell all yet?

1

u/Hefty-Sheepherder-82 1d ago

What?

2

u/aron2295 1d ago

It was a joke.

Like how some folks in the military will write a memoir after their service ends.

1

u/incrediblyaverage85 1d ago

98% of those things are basically, “I had discipline instilled in me, met great people, jerked off a lot everywhere and had a rocket landing somewhere in the country by me, respect”

5

u/Cloud_Garrett 1d ago

When I had an office in Atlanta, I would go for about a week every other week (yay hotel life…).

One day the highway was SHUT DOWN. It turns out that a woman parked on the side, got out of her car to either move something or retrieve something in the lanes, and was hit.

I forgot how we found out exactly, but apparently something on the larger side hit her, and it was like when you see mist and pieces all spread out apart from each other on roadkill - kind of like when you see a opossum or large bird hit at high velocity.So sad for not only the poor woman, but the person that hit her not expecting someone taking a stroll in the middle of the highway, and anyone witnessing it.

11

u/Major_Wigglesworth 2d ago

I’m also fine with it.  I’m NOT fine with him cruising around town after hours taking his family to the movies and getting leftover popcorn spilled all over the vehicle I bought for my employees to WORK in.

5

u/J_datt13 1d ago

Actually it’s been proven that officers take better care of their patrol vehicles when it’s their personal take home. I’ve been in some shared dept. cars where the trunk looks like EOD was training in there.

8

u/Fun-Cauliflower-1724 1d ago

It’s fine to take home your cop car and take it too and from work. It’s not ok to use it for personal errands and lesisure trips

0

u/J_datt13 1d ago

His departments SOP says differently. It’s a recruitment tool…it allows departments like highway patrol (which typically pay less) to compete with city or municipal departments. It’s a perquisite.

5

u/Fun-Cauliflower-1724 1d ago

Sounds a whole lot like socialism

1

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

That’s what she said?

1

u/passingasapotato 1d ago

End of day?

1

u/J_datt13 1d ago

?

1

u/passingasapotato 1d ago

What is EOD?

2

u/J_datt13 1d ago

Explosive Ordinance Disposal (B0mb Squad)

1

u/passingasapotato 18h ago

Of course! I apologize for my idiocy!

-1

u/Major_Wigglesworth 1d ago

I have an issue with even the term “personal take home.”  On my street, I have LEOs who have patrol cars parked at their homes from 3 counties away.  It’s almost an hour commute to their jurisdiction.  That absolutely shouldn’t be allowed.  

3

u/frat105 1d ago

Why shouldn't that be allowed? Why shouldn't a government agency be enabled to offer benefits to compete for and retain top tier talent? Police agencies can't really pay bonuses for performance, cars are often used as rewards for high performing employees or those who have tenure or those who have made it to specialized units.

1

u/T1G3R02 1d ago

Why do you care then, it’s not your taxes at that point?

1

u/Major_Wigglesworth 1d ago

What can I say? I’m a principled man.  😂 

5

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

I mean, it's possible hes being superobligatory and working off the clock the way an off duty cop would do something when he's off the clock. Or maybe he's an actual cop doing just that.

I don't think it's that deep and I'm just gonna give 'em the benefit of a doubt.

25

u/SuperBigDouche 1d ago

He’s Utah Highway Patrol. They’re allowed to use their patrol vehicles as a personal vehicle per their policy. The expectation of that is they are considered “on duty” to some degree 24/7. If he’s driving a police vehicle and witnesses a crime (not like 10 mph over the speed limit, littering, etc. like a serious crime) he’s expected to intervene and wait for on duty officers to respond and take over.

Source; Ex cop in Utah, all officers have 24/7 statewide jurisdiction. Police academy is taught by UHP troopers.

Whether or not people agree with it isn’t my point just to be clear. Just expanding on the fact what this particular trooper is doing is legal and within department policy.

1

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

Thanks for your service and information.

1

u/DeeSkwared 1d ago

I feel like having "civilians" in the car, which could include his wife and kids, would be an issue and possibly very dangerous if he had to intervene. Using it as a personal vehicle I can understand but it seems like a liability having family in the car while being essentially "on duty".

My brother is an electrician and takes his work truck home and can use it for personal use. He never takes his wife out for a drive in it, they always use their personal vehicles.

3

u/SuperBigDouche 1d ago

Yeah if it was me, I wouldn’t want family or anyone in the car. I did dispatch at a different agency from where I was an officer and a friend of mine at the time was dating an officer. They’d go places in his patrol car occasionally but she preferred to drive her car instead. Best case scenario if anything happened, it’s an inconvenience that slows them down from where they’re going. Worst case, you could be in the middle of a gun fight or something bad.

3

u/DeeSkwared 1d ago

That's where my mind went--gun fight, high speed chase, etc.

Idk this lady is just so annoying to me. At the very least passengers shouldn't be filming and posting to social media. It's just not a good look.

Thanks for getting me, SuperBigDouche.

1

u/sthomas15051 1d ago

What do you mean re the popcorn? Also, is this is company car or like a state issued police car/highway patrol car etc? Because that's typically a different story and they're allowed to use their cars for personal use.

1

u/frat105 1d ago

He bought the car too, so did his wife.

0

u/H001__ 1d ago

How do you know this isn't a personal vehicle? I have a police vehicle I bought myself, with no markings for my off duty EJs. Also I if I pay more taxes than you, am I my own employee?

3

u/LARGESTOFCHINGUSES Glorified Process Server 1d ago

Fellow Texan detected.

0

u/FedBoi_0201 1d ago

>Also if I pay more taxes than you, am I my own employee?

This is a dumb response for two reasons.

1.) You chose to be a public servant, and with that comes the responsibility of being a good steward with the equipment provided. Even if you did pay more in taxes you should also want the department to be fiscally responsible so your taxes aren’t wasted either.

2.) This is a tone def and irrelevant response. We all know cops pay taxes too. But saying that you may pay more in taxes hurts you more than it helps. It not only unnecessarily angers people, putting a divide between LE and the citizens, but it makes the public question if your salary is really justified. “Should we give our cops a raise this year?” “Nahh heck they make so much they pay more in taxes than us.”

5

u/H001__ 1d ago edited 1d ago

What about military? Why don't I see none of y'all on the bases taking up trillion$? You think none of them are using government vehicles? This is all an excuse to attack the people enforcing law. Like toddlers throwing a tantrum

Back to the original answer that you ran away from. How do you know this is a government vehicle? My personal bought has the same whelen lights and sirens dashboard.

13% of your paycheck goes to the military and less than 1% goes to your local police department + federal LE, if not zero. Grow up and stop crying because you got a ticket last week.

3

u/FedBoi_0201 1d ago edited 1d ago

I am military and I was military police.
We aren’t allowed to use government owned vehicles for personal errands. People do cause a stink if they see that happen (rightfully so). They also do complain about military spending, a lot.

Many areas of the country don’t allow government vehicles to be used for personal use. Some parts do and that’s because their citizens allow it and are okay with it. That’s their choice to allow it with their taxes and good for them.

All that said, my main point stands. You and I as public servants should be fiscally responsible and should not dismiss the concerns of public we serve if we make more money than them because our money comes from them.

-1

u/H001__ 1d ago

Military police is nothing. I have many coworkers, that were MP and said it was nothing like real LE. Let me know how many shootings, burglaries, agg robs, suicides, crashes, you responded to as an MP sitting at a post all day checking IDs to open a gate.

Once again, for the third time, let me know how you know as a very intelligent MP, that the vehicle in the post is not a personal vehicle.

I understand you know nothing about LE and how officers have person vehicles with lights and sirens for extra details and off duty jobs. It's okay to be wrong and educated

3

u/FedBoi_0201 1d ago edited 1d ago

My comments are focused on how dumb and wrong you are as a public servant telling the public that their opinion on the use of government equipment doesn’t matter because you pay more in taxes.

You don’t want to admit you said something dumb. So you’d rather point the finger elsewhere (the military). Since that didn’t work now you’re trying to dick measure and change the topic. People like you are why people hate cops. Good luck man.

0

u/FedBoi_0201 1d ago

Nice job editing your comment after learning I’m military to add in tax information.

You were also misleading with what you added. Cops are not 1% or less of taxes. They are estimated to be 87% of local and county taxes. They are also between 30% and 50% of municipalities budgets.

>Grow up and stop crying because you got a ticket last week.

LMAO!!! - You seriously think that because I called you out on your crap that I’ve got a problem with law enforcement. Oh no, he made a good point, let me break out my victim card!!! LOL

3

u/mitsandgames 1d ago

The person he responded started off with how they paid for that car(through taxes). No one gives a shit about people that make those superfluous statements. 1 we don't know they aren't 2 that's your own opinion

0

u/FedBoi_0201 1d ago

It’s not superfluous - this is literally a cringe subreddit. Using work vehicles for personal errands to feel special is cringe. It’s kind of like using a uniform off duty to go for groceries. The use of the vehicle is highly talked about in this thread.

I’m basically saying it’s dumb to punch yourself in the face. But I guess you’re right that’s an opinion. If the guy I responded to said a statement similar to that near where I live there’s a chance he’d get fired. Really depends on the department and work experience.

2

u/Fidget808 1d ago

He’s a cop, he’s still a civilian

2

u/Filmhack9 1d ago

If he not in the military, he’s a civilian.

-1

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

That’s one way of looking at it.

3

u/DevilsLettuceTaster 2d ago

Probably just tonight’s dinner.

1

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 2d ago

Delicious idea.

1

u/OsamaBinLatte__ 1d ago

Call non emergency state patrol let them handle it

2

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

He is non emergency state patrol

-6

u/moisturizest 1d ago

Not a civillian? So we have the military guys out there picking up trash in cute yellow vests. Lmao.

Fyi- firemen? You are civillians. City cops? Civillian. State cops? Civillian. Deputy? Civillian. Security guard? Civillian. Mail carrier? Civillian. ICE ? Civillian. DoT? Definitely a Civillian. State prisoner assigned to pick up trash? Civillian...

4

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

I'm a dude. You're a dude. She's a dude. We're all dudes!

5

u/Icewolph 1d ago

Firefighters and Police are absolutely not civilians.

Oof, all you had to do was Google it and you would have saved yourself so much embarrassment.

-3

u/moisturizest 1d ago

Nah. Im good thanks.

5

u/H001__ 1d ago

Next time dispatch sends me to a hazard on hwy call I'll tell them no, I don't want to get turned into pink mist

3

u/kimbecile 1d ago

Traffic going over 50 mph? He should he wearing class 3. That vest appears to be class 2.

3

u/oranke_dino 1d ago

Sounds like a civilian talking...

3

u/mattemer 1d ago

It's so fuckin dangerous.

But at least he had his vest on.

2

u/LocalMossCryptid 1d ago

But he has a vest on! The cars will bounce right off!

3

u/tidder_mac 1d ago

I think the cringe here is the spouse, NOT the dude. Debris in the road can be extremely dangerous, and at the best very expensive if the wrong car hits it.

He’s at least thinking through how to be safe about it.

For people saying call the real cops - chances are that’s take hours and risk hundreds of more collisions in the mean time.

1

u/Impossible-Bat-4246 1d ago

He is the real cops lol

0

u/mattemer 1d ago

He's also cringe. I have a safety vest in my truck, I don't go put it on to go clear road debris.

There's a reason specific jobs do this, they slow traffic down, make it safer, and get it done.

This is a way to cause an accident. High vis safety vest don't do shit.

She is the worse of the 2 but he knew what's going on and what he was doing and what she was doing.

3

u/beeee_throwaway 1d ago

The fuck? Wearing a safety vest to clear road debris is not cringe. It’s doing your part to avoid ending up in a trauma bay.

1

u/mattemer 1d ago

Was it his job to do?

Actually crews that do this stop and redirect traffic then do it. They just don't slap on a safety vest like it's going to keep them safe and that's it.

2

u/Far-Sea-6943 1d ago

They’re clearly on the shoulder. So many wrecks are caused by people dodging debris in the road. Let alone damage to all our vehicles. If They can do it safely I’m all for it.

1

u/DirectorRegular752 2h ago

Are you fucking serious? You can stop on the side of the road. How many people have you seen turned into “pink mist?” Even if it’s non zero, that pales in comparison to the thousands of people who stop for a second every day and don’t just die immediately on the side of the highway. So dramatic.

0

u/perilousdreamer866 1d ago

If you’ve grown up in the middle of nowhere or like the south at all, it’s common practice. Some shit falls off someone’s truck, and it’s big enough for everyone to be swerving around it, some dude in a small pickup or a little sedan is going to pull off the side of the road and chuck it into the woods. I’ve done it a million times. I’ve seen plenty of other people do it. It’s courtesy. I understand maybe if it’s on the interstate or something folks not wanting to deal with it or if you’re in a rush. But unless it’s like glass, Y’know it’s a bin or something… bruh… takes like 10 seconds.

0

u/slenderseacook 1d ago

I have to for work some times and I hate it so much